Tributes pour in for late inclusion advocate Alden Escobido Habacon

Those who knew Alden Escobido Habacon were better for it, say friends and community members.

A diversity and inclusion educator, business leader, magazine publisher and former CBC employee, Habacon died Dec. 2 in what his family described as an unexpected and unfortunate accident in Hawaii. He was 50 years old.

He leaves behind his wife, Rose, and three sons, Aiden, Rei, and Rylen.

"There's tremendous grief and shock," said Rudy Chung, Habacon's brother-in-law.

Habacon, who moved to Canada from the Philippines at the age of two, worked with numerous companies and institutions on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

He also worked for RicePaper magazine, an Asian Canadian arts publication, and later founded Schema magazine, which focused on pop culture, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Andy Yan, director of Simon Fraser University's City Program, had known Habacon since the late 1990s and admired his work in multiculturalism and the Asian Canadian arts scene.

"He was one of the incredible advocates of the idea that we're better together … that representation matters and that representation gives us a sense of who we are as Canadians," Yan said. 

His death, Yan said, is a great loss.

"Everyone who knew Alden was better for it," he said.

Habacon worked at CBC from 2004 to 2010, becoming a senior manager. He helped build CBC Indigenous and implemented diversity initiatives across the corporation.

Jai Djwa, who worked alongside Habacon at CBC and later at the University of British Columbia, remembers his former colleague as a thoughtful, community-minded person.

"The work of EDI is so demanding and tiring, it takes a lot of emotional labour," Djwa said.

"Alden was always willing to do that labour … myself, I get tired at times and I just want to give up. And I'm sure he had those days as well, but in public, in the work that he did, he was always so positive and so forward-thinking."

In 2019, Habacon founded Inclusive Excellence Strategy Solutions (IESS), a consulting company that worked with governments, institutions, schools, universities, charities, and other organizations.

Zen Lim, head of operations at IESS, remembers Habacon's empathy and integrity in his EDI work. Habacon worked hard to practise what he taught, and encouraged men to show up as fathers in their work, Lim said.

"I had my first child, and I had these rules about bringing my kid on a Zoom call, and he was someone who would encourage it," Lim said. "He was like, 'No, we have to normalize these things, these are human things.'"

Pam Garcia, a facilitator at IESS, recalls Habacon as a playful and joyful person who inspired others. He averaged about 30 EDI presentations per month, she said.

"If it isn't the material [in his presentations] that made you want to be a better person, it was Alden — his personality … his [joviality], his laughter," she said.

Lim said the company plans to continue Habacon's mission.

"There are many of us that are committed to upholding his legacy, for him and for his family," he said.